AeroEng

I received the same 110 day threat when I ordered mine. Then it shipped in a few weeks… ignore the warning and just order one - that’s my advice. Good luck.

A long overdue update on this thread just to close the loop. The problem was with the connections that run from the engine to the g1000 system. My A&P disconnected the plugs and cleaned them (with appropriate safe spray) and all of the oddness went away. Purely an electrical issue. Didn’t solve my oil burn issues, but I’m due for an annual in a month or so and will do a deep dive then. I think maybe the reason it started when I went higher is the air flows around the engine change with different pressure and maybe some wind was blowing the connector around differently at higher altitudes, causing it to spaz out? Only a guess obviously. Thanks again for all the great advice. Truly appreciated.

Thanks for all the thoughtful feedback. I am in contact with Hector down in Texas. Seems like he really knows what he's doing.

The leather seats in my ‘07 acclaim are looking a bit tired. I’d love to get them recovered (and maybe also have some other items in the interior like the dash, elastic pockets, etc. spruced up), but I don’t want to have the plane grounded for months while the work is done. Any recommendations on how to accomplish a refresh without significant downtime? I’m located in Missouri if that makes a difference re: proximity to good shops. Thanks as always, R

With this great conversation, I thought I’d throw my cruise configuration into the data pool. ‘07 Acclaim. TAS at 205 at 17.5k, 30”, 2400 and 15.7 gph.

Thanks for the advice. Maybe 600 hours later it’s time for another top end…

I always cruise LOP, which makes the dark oil all the more frustrating…. Thanks for the thought though. Much appreciated.

My oil gets dark pretty darn quick. This is my first airplane, so I don't have much to compare to, but as an engineer I'm surprised by how quickly it goes dark...

I couldn't agree more. Paul, Bob and everyone else has been extremely helpful (and patient with me, as I learn all of this).

Got it. Thanks. I’m assuming broken ring would show up in the oil filter. I’ve had clean filters… Thanks again for all the help from this group. It is really special that us newbies can come here and get great advice.

If bad rings are the culprit, how quickly do I need to take action to get it fixed? Is this a “don’t fly the plane home” situation or a “fly the plane home, but get it looked at ASAP once you get there” situation? thanks…

Got it. I’m going to do this as soon as I’m home from this trip. I’ll also check all the wiring as Skip recommended. Thanks as always for the great advice.

I still had at least 5.5 quarts when I landed. It wasn’t in oil starvation mode.

Oil consumption seems to be about 1 quart every two hours. Up from 1 quart every four hours. I know the continental engines can slowly refill over a few days after running. I started at 7.5 quarts, then flew for four hours. The day after the flight, I checked and the oil was down to 5.5 quarts. I plan to check again tomorrow to see if it crept back up at all. But the burn rate is definitely higher. I also had some good soot on the belly of the plane behind the exhaust and all the way down the underside. But only on the left side (where the oil breather tube is located).

Sorry, should have provided those details. This is on a 2007 Acclaim with a Continental TSIO 550-G. Monitoring is done through the G1000.

I'll add that if you are having issues with bouncing on your landings, you may want to check your shock discs. I was bouncing now and then, until I had the discs replaced. New discs made a night and day difference. Landings were completely smooth. I was shocked at how effective the refreshed discs were...

I would very much appreciate the brain trust’s input on this one. I just had the plane into the shop. I’m trying to track down a recent (last 30 hours) increase in oil burn rate. During that visit, the mechanic also installed a new TIT sensor (probably not relevant, but mentioning it in case the group thinks this is a sensor issue and maybe something was jostled). Anyway, after picking up the plane from the mechanic, I made a long flight from KSUS down to KPIE (about 4 hours). About a third of the way there, I climbed from around 12k up to 15.5k to get over some cloud cover. Immediately after the climb, my oil pressure r began to fluctuate from its normal pressure of 57. It would drop five, then go back up, then drop 8 and go back up. Then down 3 and back up. Etc. A graph output of the oil pressure is attached. The pressure never went below green and never below 45ish. But the drops are not slow and steady, they are sharp. I’ve looked at all the prior flights and never had this issue. It seems new. Is it possibly just a sensor issue given the recent TIT probe install? Anyone have any other good thoughts? Really appreciate the help from all the sages the forum.

Understood and agreed. For the record, the $1200 beauty is definitely riveted.

Here’s hoping. I just looked up the equivalent clamp for a turbo Cessna 182 and it’s $250. A far cry from the $1250 clamp for the continental 550 turbo…

Considering the difficulty I had in finding one of these clamps earlier this year, I can’t imagine how hard it will be now that the entire fleet has to replace them…. I have ONE as a spare at the moment, but all us Acclaim owners will need TWO if the AD goes through…

Just a quick update to let everyone know that my new v-band clamp shipped today. About a two week wait—not too bad. Sharing so people know these parts are available. Don’t listen to the downstream supplier when they give you a 200 day lead time. Continental cranks then out regularly. Thanks again for all the help. Safe flying everybody.

Scary experience for sure. I will be checking mine religiously until the new one comes in…. Glad the safety wire did it’s job. R

I agree with @haymak3r the prices are insane. You’d think they were made out of diamond. I called continental and was told there is only a 9 day lead time. That’s different than the 250 days I was given by Air Power. I placed an order. Here’s hoping it will ship closer to 9 days from now… I suspect the clamp would be just fine without replacement, but given the catastrophic nature of the potential failure, I figure I might as well replace with new. Thanks to everyone for the helpful comments. Great group of people on here! -R

Thanks very much for the thoughtful comments. My default would be to replace it, but they are nowhere to be found! I will give Continental a call. Maybe they will share information about their source and provide an alternative part number. If I come across that info, I will certainly share it here. -R

Hey everybody, throwing a question out for the brain trust. I’m planning to replace the right turbo on my 07 Acclaim (it’s at 900 hours and showing signs of breakdown). I was planning to also replace the v-band clamp (part 657198) leading to the exhaust. Everything I’ve read indicates that you can use it again, but I was going to be extra cautious and just get a brand new one. After hunting for a while, I have been unable to find a single new clamp available online. Lead-times appear to be in the HUNDREDS of days… Should I feel comfortable reusing the existing clamp already on the turbo (and just checking it at oil changes and replacing as soon as the new clamps become available)? Or should I not replace the turbo for fear that retorquing the v-clamp will cause damage and potential total failure of the clamp? Also - anyone know where I can get a darn clamp?! Seems ridiculous that we can’t get these parts… Thanks as always. Your help is greatly appreciated. Richard